Warren Moon

Moon, Warren (Harold Warren Moon, Jr.), 1956–, African-American football player, b. Los Angeles. Moon quarterbacked the Univ. of Washington Huskies to a Rose Bowl title in 1978, but he went undrafted by the National Football League, whose scouts were wary of Washington's rollout offense and an African-American at quarterback. Urged to change positions, Moon instead signed with the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos. Starting quarterback there from 1980, he led the team to four straight Grey Cup games (1980–3), winning three times (1980–82). Moon joined the NFL's Houston Oilers in 1984, and his all-around skills at quarterback were well displayed in the run-and-shoot offense the Oilers adopted two years later. Moon was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in 1994, and joined the Seattle Seahawks in 1997; he finished his career as a backup quarterback with the Kansas City Chiefs (1999–2001). Moon, a pioneering African American quarterback in the NFL, ranks second in professional football (NFL and CFL combined) career passing yardage (70,553).